Chapter 15: Water Management

Max Blazon
Great Job Max. You did a nice job mixing content with assignments.Although you do make some mention of the dichotomy between how we as Americans use water and how other countries of the world use water, I think this is a section you could perhaps elaborate on. Ms. Bof

The Bottled Water Boom: Bottled water is the fastest growing drink of choice in the world, producing billions of dollars in revenue and over 28 billion plastic bottles. Only about 16% of these are recycled, and it takes over 1.5 million barrels of oil to produce those bottles.


  1. What separates drinking water from distilled water, mineral water, and purified water?
Alex: Drinking water is intended for human consumption, and is either bottled or stored in a container for that purpose. It contains no ingredients except what the distributer might choose to put in it for disinfectant use. Distilled, Mineral, and Purified water are all altered thorugh different methods such as boiling, treatment (purifying), or natural causes (ex. groundwater), but are not specifically intended for humans to consume.

2. What can we as Americans do to reduce our environmental impact as a result of the production of so many bottles of water?

Nick: Permanent water bottles are certainly a better alternative than disposable plastic ones. A few even claim to be environmentally friendly, being made from recyclable materials and the like. In addition to that, of course, recycling plastic water bottles will be helpful in the effort to reduce our environmental impact as a result of the
production of plastic water bottles.
Kyle: Water fountains like this, one of which we have in our school, promote filling reusable water bottles in order to reduce plastic waste of disposable water bottles. It offers a quick, hands free, fill of the water bottle, and by doing this, provides a "fun" alternative that is also very green. By reporting how many plastic bottles were "saved," this water fountain may also inspire others to break away from disposable water bottles. People love their technology, which is why this water fountain is so appealing.
WaterFountain.jpg

The Hydrologic Cycle: Watch the following youtube video and answer the proceeding questions





  1. What is the simplistic process by which water flows through the internment, starring at the ocean level (Page 337)?


2. Is any water lost during this naturally occurring process? Why/ Why not?

Nick: No water is lost during this naturally occurring process. It may end up in a different area, but all the water is conserved. Physics tells us that the law of conservation of mass states that mass cannot be destroyed, as is the case with the cycle. The water is changing states of matter as it is evaporated from a body of water, then brought back down to land as rain where it will find a body of water via run off, river, groundwater, etc.

The uses of water/ Water saving opportunities: Read the following article and paragraph on page 342 of the textbook to answer the following questions.

USA Usage Article Link: http://nationalatlas.gov/articles/water/a_wateruse.html

american-usa-water-use.jpg
















  1. How has American water usage changed in the past Past 50 years? What are we primarily using water for, as of 2000?


2. How is water used in farming and the production of thermoelectric energy?


3. What are four ways in which we can conserve water in our every day lives?

Nick: The people of America have been washing their cars for too long. It is time to put the soap and buckets away, embrace the dirt, embrace the wild side, slap mud tires on your cars and head for the hills, the muddy hills, enjoying the all natural, glorious "filth" that is bestowed upon your vehicle. Also, turning off the water in the sink while we brush our teeth.

4. How does American water use compare to the use of water in other countries? Do we use more or less? In what ways do countries like Africa use their water?


Water Footprint: Check the following link out and respond to the differences in how people in other countries use water.

http://www.treehugger.com/clean-water/we-use-how-much-water-scary-water-footprints-country-by-country.html